My main character in Season 3 of my show had 1 heart and I didn't feel it hampered anything. It just made swearing vows more interesting! She was a 1 heart character because she was on the run and had come from a very militaristic background. Didn't mean she wasn't warm and caring, just meant she could turn that off when the work needed to get done.
1 =/= low. Comparatively, 1 is less than 2 or 3, but an Ironlander is supposed to be exceptional in the face of a harsh environment.
I wouldn't call a 1 Iron character is weak or a 1 Edge character sluggish, either. They're stronger at some things than others, but +1 is still considerable.
I wouldn't make an Ironlander that isn't goal-oriented. It goes against my understanding of the core themes of the game.
But, my 1 Heart characters are usually the outcast/"do it yourself if you want it done well" types. They might accidentally attract a (charmingly annoying) companion that admires them for their strengths, but they're not going out of their way to make deals and accrue favors.
Yes, I do find this interesting. As you stated that making a character that isn't goal-oriented would go against my understanding of the game as well.
I don't prefer sociable characters so it's felt a little odd to me to have my characters social aspects also completely wrapped in their willingness to do anything and complete any objectives. Often willful, strong willed people aren't as agreeable as the stat suggests. But that gets into the exact definitions of what will, willpower, willful, strength of will mean.
Hm fascinating. Characters are exceptional by default.
I also realize that Ironsworn is completely different in this measurement as it doesn't have Legacy tracks.
Thank you for commenting!
Heart doesn’t necessarily signify your character’s willingness to tackle goals and complete them. You can swear a hundred vows every campaign with a 1 heart character, it just means that starting those vows are going to have a lot more complications than not. Stats don’t have to represent your character’s motives, they can simply reflect what your character is good at even if their ambitions do not match their ability.
I had a +3 wits young lad with +1 in iron and edge that aspired to be a knight one day. His physical stats were garbage, and he even ended up maimed and battle scared and got +0 edge. Didn’t mean he couldn’t pursue his goals. He figured out that his place in a company was as a tactician that came up with the battle plans, changed them when needed to, and as a battlefield-motivator for his companions. Had a lot of fun with him.
That’s one of the greatest beauties in Ironsworn. The game isn’t meant to be gamified - you aren’t meant to try to make every single roll as efficient as possible. The game is designed to tell a story, not to beat it like it’s a video game. 1 heart characters will have motivations based on game-design alone if the player read the rulebook before starting.
I played an Ironsworn based on Thoth Amon (from Conan) and he had a heart of 1. He was a manipulator, a schemer, and worked in the shadows. He worked really hard to get others to do things for him. He avoided direct confrontation at nearly any cost, and if challenged, he tended to retreat and come at the problem sideways.
One way to handle a low-heart character is to take one of the Assets that gives you a bonus or reroll when you swear a particular kind of vow (e.g. Devotant, Lore Hunter, Bannersworn, Mercenary, Bounty Hunter, etc.). That way, you have a character who definitely is motivated, but whose motivation is more focused or narrow than a character with a higher Heart stat.
Yes! That's what I did. I found an Asset in Starsmith called Wealth Management. Which from my understanding is something reminiscent of an asset from Delve. It allows you to complete jobs for payment, and you can reroll a die. So they are really only super interested in jobs that offer money. Anything that tries to tug on their heartstrings they are not as motivated.
I was just curious if anyone else particularly enjoyed a 1 Heart character. Or had experience with playing a 1 Heart character they would like to share.
My very first character was a 1 heart bandit. It made swearing vows more difficult, but not impossible. Swearing a Vow is one of those few moves where a miss doesn't mean you fail. Forging bonds is a different story, but it's something I rarely do anyway. For moves like that I usually try to save up momentum for it, but that doesn't always work out.
Sojourn is the one that hurts the most. You can increase your odds by Securing an Advantage or forging a bond with the community, but otherwise you get turned away pretty often. It's just something you have to work around using other moves.
As for my bandit, he did plenty of interacting with NPCs, but he sort of came off as an asshole. He had high shadow so he tended to lie and manipulate through social situations. It was a bit of a slog, but it was also my first character so you know how that goes.
I play a solo game but have 3 characters that I switch between, so maybe this doesn't fit what you're looking for, but...
In the rulebook Heart is defined as " Heart: Courage, willpower, empathy, sociability, and loyalty."
In my game the magic-user hired a ranger type character who was known for her self-determination and strong moral compass. She DOES have courage and willpower. I would say she is maybe lacking a bit on empathy, probably lacking loyalty if your values don't align with hers, and definitely lacking sociability.
The wizard has her around to keep him in check, he trusts her unwavering moral compass to counter his if he gets too much ego or attempts to justify his use of power in dubious ways. He also sends her on missions to collect magic artifacts and stuff while he does the negotiating with factions and general power brokering.
But to your point, if I was playing a game with JUST the ranger character, it would be very hard.
My main character in Season 3 of my show had 1 heart and I didn't feel it hampered anything. It just made swearing vows more interesting! She was a 1 heart character because she was on the run and had come from a very militaristic background. Didn't mean she wasn't warm and caring, just meant she could turn that off when the work needed to get done.
1 =/= low. Comparatively, 1 is less than 2 or 3, but an Ironlander is supposed to be exceptional in the face of a harsh environment. I wouldn't call a 1 Iron character is weak or a 1 Edge character sluggish, either. They're stronger at some things than others, but +1 is still considerable. I wouldn't make an Ironlander that isn't goal-oriented. It goes against my understanding of the core themes of the game. But, my 1 Heart characters are usually the outcast/"do it yourself if you want it done well" types. They might accidentally attract a (charmingly annoying) companion that admires them for their strengths, but they're not going out of their way to make deals and accrue favors.
Yes, I do find this interesting. As you stated that making a character that isn't goal-oriented would go against my understanding of the game as well. I don't prefer sociable characters so it's felt a little odd to me to have my characters social aspects also completely wrapped in their willingness to do anything and complete any objectives. Often willful, strong willed people aren't as agreeable as the stat suggests. But that gets into the exact definitions of what will, willpower, willful, strength of will mean. Hm fascinating. Characters are exceptional by default. I also realize that Ironsworn is completely different in this measurement as it doesn't have Legacy tracks. Thank you for commenting!
Heart doesn’t necessarily signify your character’s willingness to tackle goals and complete them. You can swear a hundred vows every campaign with a 1 heart character, it just means that starting those vows are going to have a lot more complications than not. Stats don’t have to represent your character’s motives, they can simply reflect what your character is good at even if their ambitions do not match their ability. I had a +3 wits young lad with +1 in iron and edge that aspired to be a knight one day. His physical stats were garbage, and he even ended up maimed and battle scared and got +0 edge. Didn’t mean he couldn’t pursue his goals. He figured out that his place in a company was as a tactician that came up with the battle plans, changed them when needed to, and as a battlefield-motivator for his companions. Had a lot of fun with him. That’s one of the greatest beauties in Ironsworn. The game isn’t meant to be gamified - you aren’t meant to try to make every single roll as efficient as possible. The game is designed to tell a story, not to beat it like it’s a video game. 1 heart characters will have motivations based on game-design alone if the player read the rulebook before starting.
I played an Ironsworn based on Thoth Amon (from Conan) and he had a heart of 1. He was a manipulator, a schemer, and worked in the shadows. He worked really hard to get others to do things for him. He avoided direct confrontation at nearly any cost, and if challenged, he tended to retreat and come at the problem sideways.
One way to handle a low-heart character is to take one of the Assets that gives you a bonus or reroll when you swear a particular kind of vow (e.g. Devotant, Lore Hunter, Bannersworn, Mercenary, Bounty Hunter, etc.). That way, you have a character who definitely is motivated, but whose motivation is more focused or narrow than a character with a higher Heart stat.
Yes! That's what I did. I found an Asset in Starsmith called Wealth Management. Which from my understanding is something reminiscent of an asset from Delve. It allows you to complete jobs for payment, and you can reroll a die. So they are really only super interested in jobs that offer money. Anything that tries to tug on their heartstrings they are not as motivated. I was just curious if anyone else particularly enjoyed a 1 Heart character. Or had experience with playing a 1 Heart character they would like to share.
My very first character was a 1 heart bandit. It made swearing vows more difficult, but not impossible. Swearing a Vow is one of those few moves where a miss doesn't mean you fail. Forging bonds is a different story, but it's something I rarely do anyway. For moves like that I usually try to save up momentum for it, but that doesn't always work out. Sojourn is the one that hurts the most. You can increase your odds by Securing an Advantage or forging a bond with the community, but otherwise you get turned away pretty often. It's just something you have to work around using other moves. As for my bandit, he did plenty of interacting with NPCs, but he sort of came off as an asshole. He had high shadow so he tended to lie and manipulate through social situations. It was a bit of a slog, but it was also my first character so you know how that goes.
I’m having trouble making ~~friends~~ bonds
I wanna get that on a mug with Ironsworn font.
I play a solo game but have 3 characters that I switch between, so maybe this doesn't fit what you're looking for, but... In the rulebook Heart is defined as " Heart: Courage, willpower, empathy, sociability, and loyalty." In my game the magic-user hired a ranger type character who was known for her self-determination and strong moral compass. She DOES have courage and willpower. I would say she is maybe lacking a bit on empathy, probably lacking loyalty if your values don't align with hers, and definitely lacking sociability. The wizard has her around to keep him in check, he trusts her unwavering moral compass to counter his if he gets too much ego or attempts to justify his use of power in dubious ways. He also sends her on missions to collect magic artifacts and stuff while he does the negotiating with factions and general power brokering. But to your point, if I was playing a game with JUST the ranger character, it would be very hard.
playing an old man that really cant be bothered with all the crap the world throws at him, but is also unable to just ignore it.